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We are very excited about our new plot at the local community garden. Visions of red ripe tomatoes, plentiful cucumbers, grillable eggplants, and fresh green beans fill our heads (idealistically, probably). In an attempt to involve The Brood, we took them to the plot and had them help dig, pull weeds, and plant seeds. Number 4 Child lost interest relatively quickly and hung out at the picnic table with the food (and his DSi). Number 3 Child was interested in payoff…now. When I pointed out the ubiquitous wild onions to her, she found her mission. We ended up with a full bag of them and nothing in particular planned for them. So I, rather predictably, said, “Hey, why don’t we pickle some?”

Wild Onion Pickle

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp each sugar and salt

1/2 tsp each cracked peppercorn and mustard seed

small bunch of fresh tarragon

a garlic clove, finely sliced

a small bunch of wild onion

Heat the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns, and mustard seed in a saucepan until simmering. Meanwhile pack garlic, tarragon, and onions (which have been thoroughly cleaned and trimmed) in a half pint jar. Pour the hot hot vinegar mixture over, seal, and wait.

Fridays have become Pizza Friday around here. Not that long ago, in an email thread now long lost, we documented a blog with a lemon pizza. When I found cheap Meyer lemons just after those emails were exchanged, it was clear that Pizza Friday must feature the lemon. With olives and onions and garlic, it was so surprisingly good. Like sunshine on a slice!

It’s spring and I’ve been craving artichokes. I have not, however, been craving the work of prepping them. Having a bag of frozen green fava beans, I bought a bag of frozen artichoke hearts and made a simple stewed version of these with white wine and homemade stock (of which we now have scads). Along with a fresh tomato salad, farro, and the lovely French Rose Paul brought me, it was an infusion of spring.

Atlanta is now infamous for its lack of coping skills in winter weather. I was lucky to have only spent 3 hours in the snow and logistics induced traffic jam of 2014. Even though I was lucky compared to others I knew who spent 7 and 13 hours in it, it was still a hideous way to spend an afternoon. When I got back, I wanted comfort food. Big time. There was no matza meal, so I looked for dumpling recipes on the internet and found this semolina dumpling recipe at Smitten Kitchen.

Our usual Super Bowl party hosts cancelled this year. Since I love football, there had to be a Super Bowl party! So we split duties with our friends. We cooked and they provided the space. This was the perfect time to play with the chili recipe, which I did.

All of you loyal readers who have been with us from the beginning know that the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap is, in a sense, the reason for this blog. Quite simply, i love making cookies and love eating cookies, so i have wanted to participate in this event for a few years. In order to do so, i had to have a food blog, and thus you came to be reading this.

Much vegetarian chili is unsatisfying to me. Maybe it’s beans in vaguely chili flavored tomatoes. Or maybe it’s tvp or seitan, and I’m not absolutely crazy about those. But I didn’t have any alternative, so I kept trying different versions. This one has a chili-like texture provided by the split moong dal. If you can’t find those, French lentils should work as well. Korean black bean paste gives it a depth that spices alone don’t. When I reheated some leftovers, I added a half tablespoon of butter for a little richness. If you don’t mind the calories or fat, give that a try.

Spice blends are so useful, particularly when time is short. Many premixed blends in stores can be bland, too salty or just stale. In any case, it’s nice to customize blends to one’s own taste. One of my recent obsessions is the quest for a good vegetarian chili that has a authentic texture and rich flavor. This chili mix came out of that quest.